conspiracy

Question 1

define conspiracy

Answer 1

A conspiracy occurs when two or more people enter into agreement to commit an unlawful act, which can sometimes include civil actions.

Question 2

describe the subject matter of an act of conspiracy

Answer 2

In order to constitute a conspiracy the subject matter of the agreement must be unlawful

Question 3

what is the essence of the defence of conspiracy

Answer 3

The essence of the defence is the concluded agreement between the parties to commit an offence.

Question 4

does an actual offence need to be committed in the defence of conspiracy

Answer 4

The actual offence need never be committed

Question 5

what is the actus reus of conspiracy ?

Answer 5

The actus reus of conspiracy is the agreement
Two dimension:
1.The parties to the agreement
2.The objective of the agreement

Question 6

can a person be found guilty of conspiracy if they abandon the agreement ?

Answer 6

The crime is committed when the agreement is made – any subsequent conduct cannot undo the crime

Question 7

is impossibility a defence to conspiracy ?

Answer 7

If the agreement entered into relates to a specific endeavor which is impossible to achieve, no conviction will follow.

Question 8

is factual impossibility a defence to conspiracy in Ireland

Answer 8

Factual impossibility not a defence – once the agreement, knowledge and intent to complete are there the fact that it is impossible to actually do it irrelevant

Question 9

describe the case of DPP v Nock ?

Answer 9

• The defendants were charged with conspiring to produce cocaine
• Unknown to the accused the material in which he was working with did not contain cocaine and consequently he could not have produced the drug .
• The convictions and the charges were quashed by the House of Lords where it was held that where the agreement between the defendants to achieve a specific result and where that result was an impossibility, the defendants could not be convicted.
• The House of Lords also pointed out that where the indictment was drafted in more general terms, the court held the conviction could be possible

Question 10

what is the mens rea of conspiracy ?

Answer 10

• Mens rea is the Intention to commit the substantive offence.
  It appears that mens rea of conspiracy is comprised of 3 elements –
  1. Intention to enter an agreement
  2.Knowledge of any fact or circumstances specified in the target wrong
  3.An intention on the part of the conspirator to carry out the target wrong (to do something unlawful or to do something lawful by unlawful means)

Question 11

where in the law does it make it an offence to conspire to commit a serious offence

Answer 11

S 71(1) of the Criminal Justice Act 2006 
- Makes it an offence to conspire to commit a serious offence (s 70 defines a serious offence as one which can be punished by at least 4 years imprisonment).

Question 12

the offence of conspiracy permits the authorities to intervenes as early as possible, how is this justified ?

Answer 12

◦1) group criminality possess a dynamic that is potentially more dangerous than that of lone individuals
◦2) it is less likely that an individual who is part of a group will decide to abandon a crime

Question 13

does every conspirator, have to be aware of each other ?

Answer 13

The various parties do not need to be aware of each other, provided all are part of the same conspiracy and overall plan - R v Porter [1980]

Question 14

do the conspirators have to know the precise details of the plan ?

Answer 14

• The Conspirators must know the nature of the agreement but they do not however need to know the precise details of the plan
• In R v Orton [1922] , it was held that an accused could be convicted of conspiracy even where he did not know the precise details of the offence.
• The court held that where the accused was ware of the that the activity being planned was a crime, it did not matter that he did not know the details.